NEWS

Index

I can finally share with you the huge project that consumed all of November. I got an email asking me if I was available to create a Christmas gift for a certain granddaughter. Upon meeting this Grandfather, Ted, I knew I definitely had to say yes. Not only is he an established author (who has dined with Bob Hope, and golfed with Bing Crosby!) but his granddaughter, Josie, I found out, is a serious ball of talent at the age of 10!

The book is a collection of poems, short stories, songs, and thoughtful writings. I had the pleasure of creating the book from cover to cover. I whipped out my rusty InDesign Skills and put them to the test. The book was printed by Blurb, and I couldn't be happier with the result. Wrap around hard cover with premium matte pages...It feels incredibly cool to hold a real book that we all put so much work into. Not to mention, young Josie bawled when she opened her gift, which she told me, "...was the first time I ever cried because I was happy!"

Projects like this make me love my job. Even more than I already do. I met one of the coolest families that welcomed Matt and I into their home. And the best part - this is just the beginning!

To check out more of the book, visit the section on my site called, Writings of a Young Girl! I need to snag a picture of the author too, for you. She is the sweetest thing.

It is called 'It was unlikely, but beautiful' which is how I feel about what I know of the entire universe.

Mixed Media on Panel, 6.5x8.5"

It's headed to Lafontsee Gallery this week, along with a couple of other new paintings.

This week I am also doing a mural on the exterior of our studio wall! I painted in the lines last night with the help of my studio mate, Abbey, and will start filling in today. Here's a detail from the original sketch. Ill keep you posted today on the progress!

Finished two commissions this week! Here is a detail of one. I'll show you the full images soon! Coming up: More commissions, a mural, and some gallery work for LaFontsee Gallery!

Missing the snow in Michigan, but I went hiking in some dusty red mountains IN DECEMBER and I loved every second of it. I saw my first Jack Rabbit and a monster sized grasshopper. So much beauty hidden everywhere. Even more in plain sight.

I wish I was talking about pancakes because that sounds great at 10 pm...but I'm talking about the next best thing! My prints arrived today and are available for purchase! Check out the shop link, or click here! It is a limited edition of 100, and each one is signed and numbered.

GIRLS, the show celebrating real and fictitious women is opening next Friday, December 7th at Light Grey Art Lab!

Today, all of the pieces were unveiled, and put up for sale as prints on their online Shop! There are so many incredible illustrations of so many different fabulous females. Check it out! And if you're in the Minneapolis area, be sure to stop down there next Friday!

The day I finish a massive project that has been keeping me from sharing my work for weeks! I can't share it with you quite yet but I will give you the littlest of a peek. Now I have to clean my disaster of a studio and get back on track with gallery paintings, commissions and upcoming projects.

And tonight for dinner I will treat myself to a hobo pie over a fire. Because Arizona is quite good for winter cooking.

Just in time for this week is a little illustration I did for the most recent issue of CraftSanity Magazine. You can order it online or find it in stores in Michigan.

I also did an embroidery pattern of a turkey family that you can stitch, that is available through their site!

So this Thanksgiving, be thankful for your days, your moonlights, the friends and good thoughts that surround you. And be extra thankful for those animals that have to give their precious lives. Or you can come to my house! Tofurkey special!

Do you have something in particular that you're thankful for this year?

Light Grey Art Lab's Fact or Fiction show is only a couple weeks away, and they are taking preorders for their books, which showcase an array of awesome talent from the show. Check out their most recent blog post - they can tell it way better than I.

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Ten Paces and Draw reveals their Cocktails swap! Check it out to see all the sketches and finals! Here is the final that I did based on Jon Suguiyama's sketch.

So there you go. Happy Tuesday.

On to more projects - A book project that I am excited to share with you, and some commissions. I'm also getting an itch to have a gallery show...oh life is just fast and short. But it's for living..so get out and do whatever it is that you love so much.

Thank you to The Picture Book Illustration Blog for featuring my illustrations as well as the stop motion video I worked on. There are so many good inspirations on there - check it out!

Today I am finishing a commission and also an editorial job for Amtrak's Arrive Magazine. Unfortunately I have to wait to show you that project..but when it comes out in Jan, I'll share it with you! What I will say is I am having fun doing something a little different and working with a lot of type.

Happy Friday Everyone! Make a little magic in your life today. The kind that makes your insides melt. (in the best way).

Here is a detail of the finished Ten Paces and Draw assignment that I did this week in the theme of 'Cocktails'. Tomorrow I will post my full sketch and my full final (which will be two different pieces, since we swapped sketches) I am thoroughly excited to see what the other artists come up with.

Tomorrow I finish sketches for the Amtrak Magazine...and after that I have got a series of paintings in mind that I want to create to ship to Michigan. Yes...they involve party hats.

How perfect for this spooky week! I was zombie eyed in Michigan helping my friend, Greg Oberle, on his awesome Faberge Egg Project for the Detroit Institute of Art. Greg flew me back to help out for a week, so I took of a break from my normal life and chalked from dawn til dusk. There were five 6' tall eggs, each based on a different aspect of the economy in MI - Timber, Agriculture, Auto, Mining, and the Great Lakes.

Here are some process shots - I have to wait to get the finished images from Greg, but I will share them with you.

Agriculture

Agriculture

Mining Transfer

Mining

Timber

I also have a bunch of things to catch up on now that I am home. First was to snuggle my Junie, and now that I have ruffled her fur, I am back to work.

This week, I am participating in the Ten Paces and Draw sketch swap, and this week's topic is 'Cocktails'. When I think of cocktails, I see middle aged women in high heels sipping out of these disgustingly modern glasses and talking about their sex lives and what animal print is on their clutch. Perfectly adorable but not the kind of thing I like to draw. (I like beer and I like for animals to wear their own prints). So I looked up the history of the cocktail, and it's exact history is blurry. It started sometime in the last years of the 18th century in Europe and is mentioned for the first time in America in 1803. The first recipe in 1835 called for spirits, water, sugar and nutmeg. Here is a detail of the sketch - I am excited to take on someone else's sketch to do the finished drawing.

Cocktails Sketch

Also! Some super exciting news! My illustrations were featured on Dynise Balcavage's Urban Vegan Blog. This summer, I created illustrations based off her incredible recipes, and she posted them to her blog, with some very sweet words to boot. I was stoked! If you're not familiar, she has written a handful of vegan cookbooks, and I believe has one on the way! Check it out! And while you're there, try a recipe or two! Here's one of the recipes I illustrated for her!

OK! I am off to work, have a perfect Monday, where ever your beautiful life finds you.